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Dipeptidyl peptidase-4 (DPP-4) inhibitors have potential as a treatment for atherosclerosis. However, it is unclear whether DPP-4 inhibitors stabilize atherosclerotic plaque or alter the composition of complex plaque. Sixteen Watanabe heritable hyperlipidemic rabbits aged 10–12 weeks with atherosclerotic plaque in the brachiocephalic artery detected by iMap™ intravascular ultrasound (IVUS) were divided into a DPP-4 inhibitor group and a control group. Linagliptin was administered to the DPP-4 inhibitor group via nasogastric tube at a dose of 10 mg/kg/day for 16 weeks, and control rabbits received the same volume of 0.5% hydroxyethylcellulose. After evaluation by IVUS at 16 weeks, the brachiocephalic arteries were harvested for pathological examination. IVUS revealed that linagliptin significantly reduced the plaque volume and vessel volume (control group vs. DPP-4 inhibitor group: ∆plaque volume, 1.02 ± 0.96 mm3 vs. − 3.59 ± 0.92 mm3, P = 0.004; ∆vessel volume, − 1.22 ± 2.36 mm3 vs. − 8.66 ± 2.33 mm3, P = 0.04; %change in plaque volume, 6.90 ± 5.62% vs. − 15.06 ± 3.29%, P = 0.005). With regard to plaque composition, linagliptin significantly reduced the volume of fibrotic, lipidic, and necrotic plaque (control group vs. DPP-4 inhibitor group: ∆fibrotic volume, 0.56 ± 1.27 mm3 vs. − 5.57 ± 1.46 mm3, P = 0.04; ∆lipidic volume, 0.24 ± 0.24 mm3 vs. − 0.42 ± 0.16 mm3P = 0.04; ∆necrotic volume, 0.76 ± 0.54 mm3 vs. − 0.84 ± 0.25 mm3, P = 0.02). Pathological examination did not show any significant differences in the %smooth muscle cell area or %fibrotic area, but infiltration of macrophages into plaque was reduced by linagliptin treatment (%macrophage area: 12.03% ± 1.51% vs. 7.21 ± 1.65%, P < 0.05). These findings indicate that linagliptin inhibited plaque growth and stabilized plaque in Watanabe heritable hyperlipidemic rabbits. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper examines the roles of information and knowledge sharing, and of communication in businesses during the interwar period and during World War II (WWII). It focuses on F. Hoffmann-La Roche Ltd. (Roche), a Swiss pharmaceutical company. During WWII, the Axis Powers and the Allies imposed a double blockade on Switzerland and Roche's market was divided between the two belligerent camps. Roche coped by mobilizing a unique twinstructure, a provision introduced during the interwar period, by transforming the ownership structure in terms of both ownership and control. While this strategy enabled its expansion in the U.S. market and safeguarded the group against various political risks, it also destabilized the group's unity. As intensive as it may have been, telecommunication across the Atlantic was not sufficient for sharing crucial knowledge and checking the U.S. subsidiary's thirst for independence. To control the situation, the financial director of Roche's Basel headquarters travelled to the United States, breaking the double blockade. Eventually, the on-site, face-to-face communication and a long-distance telephone call contributed to the survival of the company as a unified organization. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We report an autopsy case of a coronary aneurysm with massive adventitial inflammation post-percutaneous coronary intervention with sirolimus-eluting stent (SES) insertion in the left circumflex (LCX) coronary artery for ischemic heart disease 3 years prior to death. The internal elastic membrane was disrupted opposite the site of the eccentric LCX plaque due to injury during stenting, and the adventitia showed massive inflammatory cell infiltration, mainly consisting of eosinophils. The LCX showed aneurysmal dilatation with inflammatory cell infiltration. Inappropriate SES implantation attracted chronic inflammation. Chronic inflammation can lead to the development of coronary artery aneurysms. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper focuses on the strategy adopted by the MNE Nestlé in Japan between the establishment of a branch at Yokohama in 1913 and the end of World War II. It highlights the difficulties encountered by the firm in its attempts to open up and operate production facilities due to strong opposition from local condensed milk makers, supported by the state. Eventually, in 1934, Nestlé opened a factory by founding an incorporated company, ARKK, all of whose shareholders were Japanese working for Nestlé. Although the war drastically curtailed the activities of both Nestlé Japan and ARKK, the organisational facilities set up during the inter-war period provided a springboard for Nestlé's post-war success in Japan. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]